And the Florida state Senate has narrowly passed a package of moderate gun control measures, in the wake of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, which killed 17 people. The measures raise the age for purchasing firearms statewide, ban the purchase and possession of bump stocks and impose a 3-day waiting period to buy guns. But the measures do not include a ban on the sale of assault rifles or limits on high-capacity magazines. A last-minute amendment to the bill rolled back the plan to arm teachers at schools across Florida, now allowing school districts to decide whether they want armed teachers or not. Before the Florida Senate voted, some of the families of the victims of the Valentine’s Day school shooting in Parkland, Florida, gathered to demand gun control. This is Ryan Petty, the father of 14-year-old Alaina Petty, who was killed during the massacre.
Ryan Petty: “Today we have gathered to support passage of legislation aimed at improving safety of children and teachers in our schools. Our message is simple: We must be the last families to lose loved ones to mass murder in a school.”
The bill will now go to the Florida House.